Microsoft has confirmed that Zune players will no longer be produced, but the software is available for WP7

Microsoft has pronounced its Zune players dead, but its software shall live on in Windows Phone 7.

Earlier this year, Microsoft terminated its Zune originals devices. Yesterday, it removed the Zune HD from its website entirely, then later said it was an accident.

Now, it has been confirmed by Microsoft that the Zune HD has seen its last days as well, ending the Zune player lineup entirely.

"We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players," said Microsoft on its Zune support page. "So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing. Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us."

Microsoft is currently looking to port Zune HD applications to Windows Phone and promote WP7 as an all-in-one device rather than sell stand-alone MP3 players. Back in February 2011, the company also mentioned rebranding Zune into Windows Live services.

Microsoft's move to kill off Zune players is similar to Apple's recent decision to get rid of its iPod Classic. Apple is looking to kill its platter-based hard drive devices for gadgets with flash-based memory.

You can do a hybrid approach:Haven't really messed with Google Music, but with Amazon you can stream from the cloud or download onto your device. It's pretty easy to keep some favorites or a new movie locally, and then switch things out when you are on wifi.

"So, I think the same thing of the music industry. They can't say that they're losing money, you know what I'm saying. They just probably don't have the same surplus that they had." -- Wu-Tang Clan founder RZA